The disinvestment policy of the Modi government and the red carpet being rolled by the Naidu government to the private players to set up industries are detrimental to the growth and prosperity of the nation and the State, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member B.V. Raghavulu has said.
Interacting with the media here on Sunday, Mr. Raghavulu demanded that the decision to sell entire stake in the profit-making, Visakhapatnam-headquartered Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) be withdrawn immediately.
“The DCI has a number of projects in its kitty and there is no justification in the decision to sell it,” he said.
Similarly, captive mines should be allocated to the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, to put it back on the road to profits.
Captive mines
Despite recession in the steel industry and non-allocation of captive mines, the RINL was regularly paying its interest liability, he said.
On the contrary, private companies were defaulting payment of loans despite availing of various concessions extended by the government, Mr. Raghavulu observed. They were shutting down industries and indulging the sale of lands, he said, and demanded that the proposed steel plant in Rayalaseema be set up in the public sector to ensure growth of the region and provide employment to the people. He attributed the development of Visakhapatnam to the industries set up in the public sector such as the Visakhapatnam Port and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
‘Protect PSUs’
Mr. Raghavulu, while recalling how Hindustan Zinc Limited in Visakhapatnam had been sold away to a private company, said the private company closed the zinc smelter within a few years of operation and was now trying to sell the land.
He appealed to the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister to protect the PSUs if they had any concern for the poor.
Earlier, Mr. Raghavulu participated in the ‘Save DCI’ signature campaign organised by the party district committee at Jagadamba junction. Employees and the general public turned up in good numbers. Later, he participated in a memorial meeting organised to condole the death of party district leader S. Ramesh.